With apologies to Mugsy Bogues and Manute Bol (who had a soft-spot for gambling, it was written), an account of historical note has recently been relayed to us by the mouth of Gilbert Arenas. Yes, Gilbert Arenas.

This bit of history comes via a USA Today piece regarding how things are ‘different’ now for Arenas in Memphis. Basically, it’s Gilly being Gilly… running his mouth as only a self-preserving historical revisionist can. An excerpt from the article pertaining to the now infamous-game of airplane Bourré (Boo-Ray) which ignited a firestorm:

Then-Wizards center JaVale McGee had beaten Crittenton out of $1,100 in a card game. Wizards guard Earl Boykins loaned McGee $200. McGee didn’t immediately pay back Boykins as he won the money and an argument blossomed. Arenas says he wasn’t involved in the actual bet.

“That’s when (Crittenton) started coming at me, ‘(Expletive, racial slur), just because you got all money, this and this and this.’ That’s when we started going back and forth. I didn’t owe him anything. It was over a $1,100 pot he just lost.”

The whole article is a must-read, and I should probably presume that if you are reading this blog, then you have read it already. In any case, Trey Kerby of The Basketball Jones offers his endorsement:

“So go read this whole thing because it’s amazing. It’s like a throwback to the old days when people thought Gilbert Arenas was the best thing to happen to the internet. Miss you, 2005.”

But yes, this documented instance of a $200 loan between the 5-foot-5 Earl Boykins and the 7-foot-1 JaVale McGee is likely the biggest height difference amongst intra-NBA player airplane card game loans, ever. Again, with apologies to Bogues and Bol, or perhaps Earl Boykins and Zydrunas Ilgauskas for that matter.

Funny how in the aftermath of the locker room gun incident, one coverage result was analysis of the game of Bourré and how its intricate rules might have contributed to the escalation of the dispute. Thanks to Arenas, it doesn’t seem like it was about the card game at all, but, rather, it was about one nit-wit’s inability to realize that he should pay back a loan (McGee), one uninvolved instigator’s interjection to the dismay of at least one involved (Arenas), and one hot-head’s lack of understanding of how choices in the present could not only ruin his career, but also his life (Crittenton). Funny, indeed.

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Truth About It.net, Washington Wizards Blog, ESPN TrueHoop Network -- Following the D.C. pro basketball franchise since the 90s and covering them in blog form since 2007 -- Opinion, Analysis, Irreverence, Pictures, Video, Interviews, Photoshops, News, Video, Quotes, Shares, and all the pixels about the Washington Wizards you can imagine.